Ironing-machine



1 2. 9 1.! E Mm m n w a 1 GRO W. E. C. POWELL.

IRONING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILEDDECJ, 1919 v1,372,4 52, Patented Mar. 22, 1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

7 I v r 4/ ///x /////4 W. E. C. POWELL.

IRONING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 4, 1919.

1,372,452. Patented Mar. 22, 1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

W. E. C. POWELL.

IRONING MACHINE.

APPLICATION mm n:c.4, 1919.

1,372,452. Patonwd 22, 1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

o [f 5 30 is awuwfoz W. E C. POWELL.

IRONING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 050.4,19m.

1,372,452, Patented Mar- 22, 1921.

amvm Moz abtowua UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IRONING-MACHINE.

Application filed December 4, 1919.

To all whom it ma concern:

Be it known that WILLIAM E. C. POWELL, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Ironing- Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the invention is to improve the construction and general adaptability of machines designed for household or domestic as well commercial use in laundrying operations, and in order that the advantages contemplated in the proposed reorganization of machines of this type or designed for this general purpose may be fully appreciated it is important to note that the features of such a machine which are regarded as essential are that it shall possess a smooth ironing, surface, a substantial depth of ironing surface, ready accessibility of the ironing shoe and related parts, an accurate alincment of the ironing shoe with reference to the padded roll which is rotatably operated to feed the goods with relation to the ironing shoe, and an effective and easily regulable pressure of the ironing shoe upon the roll. It will be readily recognized that the permanence and correct alinement of the ironing shoe with the roll which is necessary to accomplish satisfactorily and uniformly the purposes of the machine is largely and in fact chiefly dependent on the stability and wearing qualities of the means such as compression springs employed to force the shoe yicldingly into contact with the padded roll and hold it in its proper relation thereto, and whereas heretofore it has been common to dispose compression springs for this purpose in such relations with the other parts as to depend solely upon the inherent strength of the springs to maintain them in proper positions to perform their intended functions. it is the purpose of this invention to so mount and arrange the same as to insure an effective operation thereof as against any tendency, in the course of time or due to the influence of outside objects, to sag or become disalined or otherwise rendered incapable of that cooperative action which is necessary to secure the most satisfactory results, and to this end, and at the same time with a view to permitting from time to time the exposure of the operative face of the ironing shoe to permit of the polishing thereof, the inven- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 22, 1921.

Serial No. 342,358.

tion contemplates a terminal mounting of the shoe with reference to the axis of the padded roll by which a definite parallelism is maintained in all adjustments or movements of the shoe; a complete and inclusive housing and guiding or seating of the compression springs; the provision of means whereby a wide range of adjustment of the compression springs may be secured to adapt the mechanism for the different kinds of work to which it may be applied and to compensate for possible unequal deterioration of the cooperating spring members; the provision of compensating or tempering spring elements by means of which a finer or more sensitive regulation of the pressure of the ironing shoe upon the roll may be secured than is possible by depending entirely upon springs which serve merely to advance the shoe toward the roll; an arrangement of the shoe in its mountings whereby with a minimum movement thereof and within a space which insures compactness of construction the operative face of the shoe may be brought within easy reach of the operator: and finally the provision of devices whereby the ironing shoe may be locked and held in either of a plurality of positions in opposition to the influence of the compression springs, as when withdrawn from the roll to avoid injury thereto when the latter is temporarily inactive or when it is desired to polish the operative face of the shoe.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the course of the fol lowing description of a preferred embodiment of the same. it being understood that changes in form, proportion, and details may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the principles involved.

in the drawing:

Figure '1, is a perspective view of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal longitudinal section taken in the plane of the mounting of one end of the ironing shoe as indicated by the dotted line 33 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the plane indicated by the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the plane indicated by the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view to show the operative relations of the padded roll and shoe and indicating in dotted lines the rearwardly tilted position of the latter to expose the operative face thereof.

Fig. 7 is a detail view of one end of the shoe dismounted.

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view taken vertically of the ironing shoe mounting on the plane indicated by the line 88 of Fig. 4.

F ig. 9 is a detail view of the follower by which the pressure of the shoe actuating spring is communicated to the trunnion of the shoe.

Fig. 10 is a detail view in perspective of one of the bearing boxes for the shoe together with a portion of the operating handle and the connection between the latter and said bearing box.

Fig. 11 is a detail longitudinal sectional view of the operating handle.

Fig. 12 isa detail transverse sectional view of the operating handle on the plane indicated by the line i2,12 of Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a detail view of the cross head by which the latch members of the operating handle are withdrawn.

Fig. 14 is a detail in perspective of a modified construction of means for communicating tilting movement to the shoe.

The novel features of the invention are illustrated for convenience in connection with a conventional form of ironing machine having the table 20, side plates 2]., padded roll 22 mounted in suitable bearings in the side plates and carrying a gear 23, a driving motor 24 connected with an operating shaft 25 having a worm 26 for actuating a worm gear 27 of which the spindle 28 carries a pinion 29 in mesh with the roll-carried gear 23, said gearing as in the ordinary practice being suitably housed as shown at 30.

The ironing shoe 31, which may be heated in accordance with the usual or any preferred plan is provided with terminal trunnions 32 mounted in revoluble bearing boxes 33 and adapted for movement with or independently of said boxes, to which end ball or other antifriotion bearings 34 may be provided and said bearing boxes are peripherally toothed as shown at 35 to form gears which mesh with racks 36 supported by the side plates of the machine.

Arranged in tubular housings 37 formed on or attached to the side plates in axial parallelism with the racks 36 and within these housings are arranged main shoe operating springs 38 disposed in terminal contact with followers 39 having stems 40 which extend through guide slots 41 in the inner walls of the housings and are revolubly seated in bearings 42 in the extremities of the shoe trunnions 32 to the end that the movement of the followers in the housings under the influence of the actuating springs 38 serves to advance the shoe toward the roll 22 without in any way affecting the freedom of the revoluble movement of the trunnions or of the bearing boxes in which said trunnions are mounted. The tension of these main shoe operating springs is adjusted by scans of set screws 43 threaded in the ends of the housings at the rear of the machine and provided with suitable wrench seats such as eyes 44 in which a lrey or rod may be engaged when it is necessarv to vary the adjustment thereof.

The tension of the main shoe operating springs is opposed by supplemental tempering or modifying springs 45 also arranged in said housings 37 in contact with the opposite sides of the followers 39 and engaged by set screws 46 carrying disks 47 to bear against the outer ends of the springs and handholds 48 which are exposed and are within convenient reach of the operatorstauding in front of the machine to the end that the degree of opposition afforded by the tempering springs to the pressure ofthe main operating springs may be varied from time to time as the conditions of operation may require and to secure that accuracy in the operation of the shoe or its pressure toward the roll which is desirable in order that the most satisfactory results may be secured. In other words after a main or broad adjustment of the springs 38 has been effected an independent adjustment of the auxiliary or tempering springs will enable the operator to secure just the coiperating relation between the parts that is required in order to cause the shoe to operate properly in relation to the roll.

Extending from and attached in any suitable or preferred manner to the revoluble bearing boxes for the shoe are levers 49 forming connections between the beari ug boxes and a transverse handle 50 which is disposed within convenient reach of the operator and by the movement of which the bearing boxes may be turned to cause them to progress upon the racks 36 and thus withdraw the shoe from operative relation with sockets 53 formed as shown in the side plates, the extremities of the bolts being rounded to permit them to ride freely over the surfaces of the side plates and actuating springs 54 being disposed within. the tubular handle in rear of the bolts to yieldingly hold them in projected positions. Attached to the latch bolts are stems 55 connected at their inner ends by means of links 56 with a cross head 57 mounted for turning movement in the tube preferably at the center thereof and having a projecting finger hold or operating element 58 which may readily be swung to one side or the other by the operator to disengage the latch bolts from the sockets or seats in the side plates. When the handle 50 is moved to withdraw the shoe from contact with the roll as when the latter is not carrying goods to be ironed and it is desirable to avoid burning the surfacing cover of the roll, the latch bolts engage the sockets 53 to maintain the shoe in the retracted position from which obviously it may be released whenever desired by moving the latch releasing element 58 whereupon the shoe operating springs 38 will restore the parts to their operative positions.

In order that, when desired. a tilting movement may be imparted to the shoe to bring the concave or operative face thereof into an exposed position to permit of polishing, a connection is established between the operating handle 50 and the shoe by providing the revoluble bearing boxes with pins 59 engaging sockets 60 in the ends of the shoe, and to provide for withdrawing the shoe from its operative relation with the roll for a sufiicient distance to prevent the burning of the latter without causing the tilting movement of the shoe as when it is not desired to polish the operative face of the latter, this connection between the operating handle and the shoe is constructed so as to permit of lost motion by elongating the sockets 60 or making them of segmental form as indicated in Fig. 7. the length of the slot being such as to allow the handle 50 to be turned back sufficiently to engage the latch bolts 52 with the sockets 53 before the pins 59 come in contact with the ends of said slots. Further movement of the handle 50, however, in the same direction as that necessary to withdraw the shoe from the padded roll will swing the shoe upon its trunnions as an axis to the dotted line position indicated in Fig. 6 and with the parts in this position the handle 50 may be locked by the engagement of the bolts 52 with additional sockets 61 in the side plates 21. The shoe may thus be held substantially in an exposed position during the process of polishing its concave surface.

In Fig. 14 there is illustrated a modification of this connection between the operating handle and the shoe, wherein carried by the trunnion 32 of the latter is an ear 62 provided with a slot 63 for engagement by a pin 64 projecting from the bearing box 5 which corresponds with the bearing boxes as a means of movably supporting the trunnions of the ironing shoe.

In order that the axial parallelism of the shoe with relation to that of the padded roll may be maintained regardless of the movements of the shoe toward and from the roll the racks 36 are made as shown in the draw ings of considerable width and extend not only through the slots formed in the inner walls of the housing 37 as hereinbefore described but also through corresponding registering slots 66 formed in the side plates 21, the inner edges of said racks being thus exposed adjacent to the terminals of the shoe and the disengagement of the teeth of the revoluble bearing boxes from those of the rack being prevented by the upper walls of the said registering slots in the housings and the side walls 21. In other words the peripheral gears of the bearing boxes are of such axial dimensions with relation to the racks which they traverse that disalinement axially of the opposite bearing boxes is prevented, and this feature combined with a relatively accurate adjustment of the tensions of the opposite main shoe operating springs 38 insures the maintenance of a stable relation between the shoe and the roll. so far as their axes are concerned regardless of the movement of the shoe toward and from the roll, and obviously a further factor in maintaining the indicated relations between the shoe and the roll resides in the positive connection established between the opposite bearing boxes by reason of the transverse handle 50 which is terminally attached to said boxes and causes an equal and corresponding movement of both of them when swung in either direction and therefore whether operated manually or through the tension of the shoe actuating springs.

It will be noted that in the organization and arrangement of parts of the mechanism the axis of the ironing shoe is disposed on a line near the lower margin of the concave hearing or polishing surface, the shoe beyond this margin being deflected and convexly rounded to facilitate the introduction of the edges of the materials to be ironed, and that the receding linear movement of the shoe incidental to withdrawing the surface thereof from the roll is necessarily only just suil eient to enable the lower portion of the shoe to clear the surface of the roll in the tilting movement of the former. It will also be noted that the roll and the shoe extend almost to the planes of the inner surfaces of the side plates so as to dispose the bearings of said members in such relation to the body portions thereof as to eliminate any tendency to spring in the journals or trunnions. the connections between the handle bar 50 and the bearing boxes for the shoe being flat and thus capable of operating freely within a very narrow space defined between the extremities of the shoe and said side plates.

\Vhat is claimed is:

1. An ironing machine having, in combination with a revoluble roll and means for operating the same, an ironing shoe movable toward and from the roll, followers carrying the shoe, follower actuating springs for moving the shoe toward the roll, and adjustable tempering springs of less tension than the actuating springs, arranged in engaging relation with the followers in op position to said actuating springs.

2. An ironing machine having, in combination with a revoluble roll, an ironing shoe movable toward and from the roll, revoluble bearing blocks on which the shoe is mounted, yielding means for advancing the shoe toward the roll, and means for maintaining a synchronous rotary movement of said blocks.

An ironing machine having, in combination with a revoluble roll, an ironing shoe m vable toward and from the roll, revoluble bearing blocks on which the shoe ismounted, yielding means for advancing the shoe toward the roll, and ad; and gear mountings for said bearing blocks.

4. An ironing machine having, in combination with a revoluble roll an ironing shoe movable toward and from the roll, revoluble bearing blocks on which the shoe is mounted, yielding means for advancing the shoe toward the roll, said bearing blocks having peripheral gears, and racks arranged in meshing relation with said gears.

An ironing machine having, in combination with a revolubie roll, an ironing shoe movable toward and from the roll, revoluble bearing blocks supporting the shoe and having peripheral gears, racks arranged in meshing relation with, said gears for traverse by the bearing blocks, yielding means for advancing the shoe toward the roll, and a common operating handle connected with said bearing blocks for imparting simultaneous rotary movement thereto.

6. An ironing machine having, in combination with a revoluble roll, an ironing shoe movable toward and from theroll, revoluble peripherally geared bearing blocks on which the shoe is tiltably mounted, racks traversed by said bearing blocks, yielding means for advancing the shoe toward the roll, a handle for imparting reverse rotary movement to the bearing blocks, and means for imparting tilting movement to the shoe subsequent to the withdrawal of its surface from the roll.

7. An ironing machine having, in combination with a revoluble roll, an ironing shoe movable toward and from the roll. revoluble peripherally geared bearing blocks on which the shoe is tiltably mounted, yielding means for advancing the shoe toward the roll, racks traversed by said bearing blocks, an operating handle for simultaneously communicating reverse rotary movement to the bearing blocks, and connections between the bearing blocks and the shoe for communicating tilting movement to the latter at an intermediate pointin the movement of the former.

8. An ironing machine having, in combination with a revoluble roll, an ironing shoe movable toward and from the roll, revoluble peripherally geared bearing blocks on which the shoe is tiltably mounted, yielding means for advancing the shoe toward the roll, racks traversed by the bearing blocks, a common handle for communicating simultaneous reverse rotary movement to the bearing blocks, and a pin and slot connection between the bearing blocks and the shoe for imparting tilting movement from the former to the latter.

9. An ironing machine having, in combination with a revoluble roll, an ironing shoe movable towai'd and from the roll, revoluble peripherally geared bearing blocks upon which the shoe is tiltably mounted, yielding means for advancing the bearing blocks toward the roll, means for imparting simultaneous reverse rotary movement to the bearing blocks, means for imparting tilting movement to the shoe at intermediate points in the path of movement of said bearing blocks, and locking devices for securing the bearing blocks in adjusted positions.

it). An ironing machine having, in combination with a revoluble roll, an ironing shoe movable toward and from the roll, revoluble peripherally geared bearing blocks upon which the shoe is tiltably mounted, ram; traversed by said bearing blocks, yielding means for advancing the bearing blocks toward the roll, means for communicating tilting movement from the blocks to the shoe, an operating handle common to the bearing blocks for imparting rotary lateral movement thereto, and locking devices mounted upon the handle for securing said blocks in their adjusted positions.

11. An ironing machine having, in combination with a revoluble roll, an ironing shoe movable toward and from the roll, revoluble peripherally geared bearing blocks in which trunnions of the ironing shoe are mounted for independent rotary movement, racks traversed by said bearing blocks, yielding means for advancing the ironing shoe toward the roll and consisting of followers having their stems mounted in axial bearings of said trunnions and springs arranged in operative relation with the followers, and means for imparting simultaneous reverse rotary movement to said bearing blocks.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

WILLIAM E. C. POWELL. 

